MEDIA RELEASE
Hawaii is expected to receive $86,000,000 in federal contributions toward the Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP) that determine the shared costs of Medicaid, Senators Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel K. Akaka have announced.
The funds are provided in a $26 billion state aid bill approved by the U.S. Senate. The bill passed Thursday, Aug. 5 on a vote of 61-39 with Inouye and Akaka voting in favor of the measure.
The U.S. House of Representatives will return next week for a one-day session to vote on the measure. If approved by the House it will go to the president for his signature.
“Medicaid is a critical link to basic healthcare for those suffering in poverty or dealing with disabilities. These difficult economic times have made it hard for the state to pay an appropriate share of the costs incurred by the Medicaid program. These funds will ensure that those dealing with difficult circumstances have access to medical professionals and receive the care they need in a timely fashion,†Inouye said.
“This increased federal funding will help Hawaii meet its Medicaid obligations as the economy recovers,” Akaka said.
The federal Medicaid matching rate was increased by 6.2 percentage points for all States, and by additional percentage points for states with high unemployment in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The increases were made in response to the increased Medicaid caseloads and decreasing state revenues resulting from the recession.
The increase is scheduled to expire Dec. 31.
The bill will continue the additional federal assistance for six months, but would phase the level of assistance down.
For January – March, 2011, the federal Medicaid matching rate would be increased by 3.2 percentage points for all states, and for April – June, 2011, the federal Medicaid matching rate would be increased by 1.2 percentage points for all states.
For the same six-month period, states with high unemployment would continue to receive the additional percentage points, as they do under current law.